CHAPTER 47: DON’T WAIT FOR THE WINGS.

[Sylvie’s POV]

The first thing Sylvie saw after being swallowed by the beast was a grand hall.

So... this was the entrance.

She took a calm step forward, eyes scanning the towering pillars, the glowing runes and the sheer scale of the place. It all screamed power.

She had jumped in only after the Ashborn boy had done so—dragging the daughter of Duke Astravore with him, no less.

From the moment she saw the beast, she knew something was off.

It wasn’t just its size or unnatural stillness—it was the way it watched them without moving a single inch.

It was too still to be wild. And she knew better than to assume that Noxvalen would try to kill the students on the first day.

So, she thought it was a trial to defeat it... by working together.

But the beast wasn’t aggressive nor did it try to attack them.

Still, none of the others moved.

And that was the moment when the Ashborn boy stepped forward. She didn’t know his name but just his black hair and crimson eyes were proof enough of his lineage.

He gave a single command to his strangely fluffy bear—

And the next thing she knew, a student was flailing through the air... right into the beast’s mouth.

At first she thought he had gone insane.

But then, she noticed it.

Right as the boy was swallowed by the beast, she caught a glowing blue light within its stomach... but it vanished too quickly to even see anything.

Still, she didn’t act just yet and waited.

And not long after, the Ashborn boy jumped in himself, dragging the Astravore girl with him.

Even the fluffy bear jumped in after them.

That Ashborn Boy definitely knew something...

That much was clear.

But how?

Did his father tell him?

Or... had he noticed something she hadn’t?

Either way, the fact that he kept it to himself said enough. There was an advantage in going early and he intended to claim it alone.

She had no intention of falling behind.

Without another second of hesitation, she jumped in after him.

And her hunch had been correct as she arrived in this grand chamber with towering pillars and glowing runes.

But what caught her attention first... was the boy sprawled awkwardly at her feet, unconscious with limbs bent in ways that defied dignity.

Who is this weirdo?

She dismissed the unconscious boy with a glance and let her eyes wander—

Until they landed on the man seated at the center of the room.

And suddenly, her breath caught.

There was no aura.

No oppressive pressure.

No killing intent.

Yet... every instinct in her body screamed one thing.

That being was dangerous.

Still, she knew who he was.

Azriel the Hollow.

The Empire had briefed them on the key figures of Noxvalen and his name was second only to the Principal.

An S+ Rank combatant.

But it wasn’t his strength that made him terrifying.

It was his cruelty.

The kind that didn’t scream or roar... but waited, silent and cold, as if watching the world die slowly amused him.

She quickly averted her eyes.

And that’s when she saw them.

The Ashborn boy and the Astravore girl... sitting casually at the edge of the room.

So the orientation won’t begin until everyone’s here.

It didn’t take her long to piece things together. The test. The silence. The lack of instructions.

With quiet and deliberate steps, she walked toward them, planning to take a seat nearby.

She was curious about how the Ashborn boy knew about the entrance but she wasn’t stupid enough to talk to any nobles.

Especially someone from the ducal families. Not after what they had done to her and her family.

—

[Rael’s POV]

I looked at the completely normal looking girl with lavender hair and golden eyes.

She was as plain as people go with nothing except her above-average beauty to brag about... but even that had no use paired up with a chest so flat, that even Bearlo had more curves than her.

She looked completely different from how one might have imagined a half-dragon to be.

Well, in her defence, her draconic bloodline hadn’t awakened yet.

Hell, she didn’t even know about her dragon blood.

Her parents had passed away before they could even tell her that.

And her being oblivious was the reason she even managed to survive till this point.

Dragons hated half-breeds. For them, in all their pride and perfection, they hated anything they considered "tainted."

And humans for as grand as they made themselves to be, considered half-dragons to be perfect test rats.

But that was not the reason I knew about her.

I knew her because of one single thing... she wasn’t just any half-dragon.

No.

She was one of the villains of the first major arc of the story.... Someone who slaughtered hundreds of students and staff alike.

She was someone I was already planning to get rid of soon.

Sure, she had one of those tragic backstories. The whole lonely hybrid child, hated by both sides, destined for blah blah blah type.

But who cares, really?

For me, she was just a minor obstacle and an opportunity, if I played my cards right.

Now, if I were some dense protagonist, I would have probably thought—

"Can’t I just change her fate? Maybe, with the power of friendship... or love... or some morally uplifting monologue under the moonlight?"

Ha. No, thanks.

First of all, I’m not delusional.

Second, I don’t have the patience for fixing people with unresolved trauma.

And finally, she was already too far gone. The seed of chaos was already rooted and the fall had begun.

Even if I did save her—by some miracle and a motivational speech with some dumb hope—she would still end up as a threat sooner or later.

And I’m not the kind of idiot who waits for a villain to grow wings and plot armor.

Better to kill her early than to regret it when she becomes the final boss.

So, I was going to do it as soon as I’m strong enough and before she even had a chance to explode into chaos.

—